


In Search of Dragon

by cc_kouga



Series: Exy/Hockey Crossover [1]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: F/F, My First Work in This Fandom, more characters will be added in later chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-11 21:17:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9027775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cc_kouga/pseuds/cc_kouga
Summary: The Sisters still called her ‘Your Highness’ as was fitting her station. But it felt mocking since she was always dressed in coarse cotton. Since the only piece of jewelry on her person was a blood soaked bone amulet.





	

**Author's Note:**

> this was supposed to be my Christmas fic for polyhymina at tumblr, but i couldn't finish it on time so i'm saving this for Valentine.

Allison was a beautiful child. Fair skinned, blond haired and in possession of pink lips the shade of cherry-blossom’s petal. She was an only child too. By all rights, she should’ve been the apple of her parents’ eyes. She should’ve been pampered and spoiled and loved.

  
But she wasn’t.

  
Instead, she was raised by servants - and not just any ordinary servants either. Allison was in the care of the Grey Sisters. She only spent the first hour of her life inside the castle, for her father was the King and her mother was the Queen, before the Sisterhood descended and whisked her away to their Coven.

  
Allison was the Princess Royale, but she didn’t grow up in the lap of luxury. She never wore silk gowns or satin or velvet. She never wore jewelries adorned with diamonds, rubies or sapphires. She never feasted on the rarest of fruits or the sweetest of delicacies.

  
The Sisters still called her ‘Your Highness’ as was fitting her station. But it felt mocking since she was always dressed in coarse cotton. Since the only piece of jewelry on her person was a blood soaked bone amulet. They greeted her ‘Your Majesty’ every morning as she joined them for breakfast of hard bread, bland soup and bitter tea.

  
They called her ‘Your Highness’, but Allison knew they thought of her as something else.

  
Deathbringer. Fireborn. _Abomination_.

  
She was considered all that because Allison had the misfortune of being born with dragon shaped birthmark on her shoulder and liquid gold in her eyes.

 

*****

 

Almost every nation in the world had had a Dragon Marked born onto their midst. There was at least one on every generation. The last one born in the Floridian kingdom was 80 years ago and he brought destruction to third of the land. The aftermath was devastating and the rebuilding was painstaking. Life went on and after years of living in fear of another catastrophe, the people of Floridian started to heal. But they never forget.

  
As a nation, they prospered again. Under the rule of King Reynolds III, Floridian reclaimed their former glory. Trade was made and new alliances were forged. The people celebrated the Crown Prince’s wedding for three days. They mourned the passing of the old King for a week. They rang every bell in the capital during the new King’s crowning ceremony. They cheered and made merry when the heralds announced that the Queen was with child.

 

Life was good in the Floridian.

  
At least it was until the day Allison was born.

  
The day the Queen gave birth, throng of people gathered at the square. They waited eagerly for the flag to be raised, blue for a prince and yellow for a princess. They didn’t get both.

  
The flag that waved from one of the lower balcony was red.

  
For a moment, there was confusion as to what the flag meant. If it was black, they knew to mourn, but a red one was never seen before. The confusion lasted until someone in the crowd whispered ‘Dragon Marked’. Then all hell broke loose.

 

*****

 

Fortunately the city guards were quick to take action and there weren’t many people hurt during the panic surge. Within the hour, the town folks were back inside their houses and the injured were brought to the healers. When the Grey Sisters rode into town, the streets were empty and the city was gravely silent.

  
The Sisters didn’t stay long. Many pairs of eyes peeked from behind the curtains, watching silently as they rode by. This time, the people could hear the wailing cry of a baby amidst the thundering sound of hooves hitting cobblestones.

 

*****

 

Life at the coven started early in the morning. Allison got up at the same time as the Sisters. She had her own room but no personal servant. Allison did her morning ablutions, dressed in her usual clothes, brushed her hair and deftly braided it. She was ready and out of her room in no time.

  
Breakfast was a quiet and swift affair. Nobody dithered or lingered, there were chores to be done. Allison’s first of the day was at the herb garden. She helped weeded and watered the plants. Sister Mara, the head gardener, taught her the names and medicinal uses of all the herbs.

  
Afterward, Allison went to the kitchen to help with lunch preparation. She was assigned to Sister Lucia, one of the junior cooks. She taught Allison how to handle a kitchen knife and how to cook simple dishes.

  
Lunch was more relaxed; the Sisters conversed with each other in low voice. Allison sat with the younger Sisters. One of them, Sister Alicia, hailed from Halia and she had been teaching Allison the language. Allison liked the lilting sound of it and she was steadily getting fluent.

  
When lunch was over, it was time for Allison’s lessons.

  
She never really understood why the Sisters taught her so much. Sister Ruth was in charge of reading, writing, history, geography, language, poetry, music and even etiquette. Once in a while, Sister Clara would teach her how to dance while Sister Heather provided the accompaniment music with her lute.

  
“There will come a time when you need them,” was the Sister Superior’s reply every time Allison asked her about the lessons.

  
Allison had wanted to asked more, but even at a young age, she could see the sad twist at the corner of her smile. So Allison held her tongue and executed a perfect curtsy and said her goodbye in the Old Tongue. It never failed to make the Sister Superior laughed delightfully and it made Allison felt a little better.

  
Allison’s lessons ended when it was time for afternoon tea. The Sisters all gathered and their chatters filled the dining hall. Once or twice laughter broke out through the din and it was at these times that Allison felt something warm curled around his heart.

  
Allison’s next destination was the craft room. There, she was taught embroidery, how to sew and how to knit. She didn’t enjoy sewing as much as knitting, but she hands down disliked embroidery. Fortunately, she was only tasked with mending the various rips and tears on the Sister’s clothes.

  
Afterward, Allison had a little bit of free time before dinner and she liked to spend it in the infirmary. Sister Abby, the Coven’s primary healer, was always happy to see her. The Sister would let Allison sat at the stool in the corner while she went about her business.

  
Sometimes Sister Abby would keep a running commentary while she treated her patients. She would tell her about the illness, the symptoms and the way to treat it. She would also ask Allison to fetch things for her. The time with Sister Abby was Allison’s favorite part of the day, partly because she felt useful but mainly because Sister Abby always kissed her cheeks whenever Allison left the infirmary. When there were no patients to tend to, Sister Abby brought out her medical tomes and they’d read together.

  
Dinner was once again somber. Everyone was tired from the day. Allison was more than ready to return to her room and rest, but there was one more thing she had to do. When she was done, she got up from the table and headed to the Sister Superior’s chamber.

  
She knocked and a second later the door opened from her. Allison smiled at Sister Valeria and made her way deeper inside, the Sister trailed behind her. There was a door, hidden behind a painted screen at the back of the room. Allison took a deep breath before she opened the door and stepped inside.

  
For as long as she could remember, Allison had done this every night. It didn’t stop her from shivering a little when her eyes fell to the old woman sitting in a wingback chair in the middle of the cramped room. Allison never knew her name and she was too afraid to even speak in her presence. There was just something about her that made the hair on Allison’s nape rose.

  
Allison bowed her head to Sister Superior who was standing beside the old woman. Then she timidly approached until she was within arm’s reach. Allison held her breath and tried not to flinch when the old woman’s hand reached out and grasped Allison’s wrist. The old woman hummed and Allison tried not to pull away. Allison hated the next part of this nightly routine.

  
The old woman held out her other hand and Sister Superior neatly cut a line on her wrinkled palm with a small knife. Blood welled up and the old woman took hold of the amulet hanging from the leather cord around Allison’s neck with her bleeding hand.

  
Allison felt something invisible wrapped around her and sunk into her skin. Her amulet pulsed once before settling once again. When the old woman let go, there was no hint of blood whatsoever. Her hand was clean; the only sign left was the deep line on her palm. Allison’s amulet was as white as ever. The old woman whispered some words in foreign language before she finally let go of Allison’s hand.

  
Allison stepped back and bowed her head to the old woman and Sister Superior before she walked out of the little room. Sister Valeria waited at the other side and she had a smile on her face. Allison knew she was trying to be nice, but it was not hard to see the pitying look on her eyes. Allison kept her head down and mumbled a small thank you as she left the chamber.

  
She ran all the way to her room and quickly changes into her sleeping clothes. She washed her face and hands, scrubbing a little harder at the spot where the old woman touched her, before she climbed into bed and hide beneath the thin blanket. She knew it would a while before sleep came to her.

 

*****

 

Days passed in much the same fashion. Allison’s routines hardly changed. Until one morning in late summer.

  
The day began like always, but Allison noticed a slight tension in the air. The dining hall was even quieter than usual. When she went to the garden, Sister Mara greeted her and they started working on the plants. But somehow, her tone had turned sharper. Allison felt weird but she didn’t say anything.

  
Allison was a bit relieved when she went to help in the kitchen and Sister Lucia behaved normally.

  
Her relief was short lived. When she joined Sister Alicia during lunch and tried to talk to her in Halian, Sister Alicia smiled tightly at her and shook her head.

   
“Not today Your Highness.”

  
She then proceeded to eat her meal without sparing any glance toward Allison.

  
Allison fidgeted in her seat and considered switching table, but she didn’t want to draw attention to herself. In the end, she just sat and ate her lunch listlessly. When she couldn’t take the awkward silence anymore, she stood up and excused herself from the table. No one stopped her.

  
Allison went straight to the Coven’s library, ready for her lessons. Since she was early, her tutors was nowhere in sight. She sighed and went around the farthest bookshelves. There was an alcove with a small window tucked between the wall and the shelf. Allison sat on the wide sill and drew her knees up until she could rest her chin on them and stare out of the window. The sky was clear blue and she could see the wind rustling the trees. The scenery wasn’t much, but it was all she had.

 

*****

 

Allison was jolted out of her reverie by the sound of two people arguing. Allison didn’t want to eavesdrop, but the library wasn’t that big and the sound carried well into her corner.

  
It was obvious that the two newcomers had been at it for some time. They were furiously whispering at each other and only raised their voices when the library door closed firmly behind them.

 

“Even if it is true, we don’t know where to find it!”

  
Allison straightened up because she could recognize that voice as Sister Abby’s.

  
“That’s why we have to go to Svaran and ask the Black Prince!”

 

And apparently she was having a disagreement with Sister Valeria.

  
“Svaran? Are you out of your mind?”

  
“I’m not. And you can deny it all you want, but the truth is, you know that this is our only chance.”

  
“Sister Superior will never agree to this.”

  
Sister Valeria scoffed. “She’s the one who came up with this plan.”

  
Sister Abby gasped. “But Svaran! That’s months away from here!”

  
“She won’t be leaving alone.”

  
“She’s still a child.”

  
“She’s Marked!”

  
“And she’s still a child!” Sister Abby snapped.

  
Allison felt the blood drained from her face. They were talking about her, no doubt about that. She hugged her knees tighter and bit her lips so she wouldn’t make any sound. Just then a knock came on the door. Sister Abby and Sister Valeria instantly clammed up.

  
“I suggest you take this somewhere else. Her Highness is due here any moment now.” Sister Ruth said.

  
Sister Abby and Sister Valeria murmured their acquiescent and stepped out of the room. They left the door opened and Allison could hear the rustle of Sister Ruth’s skirt as she prepared for their lessons. Allison didn’t know how to come out without making it known that she had been there the whole time. She fidgeted for a while before finally resigning herself. It wasn’t like she did it on purpose, she just happened to be at the right place but at the wrong time. Steeling herself, she got up from her seat and walked out from behind the shelves.

  
Sister Ruth visibly stiffened when Allison appeared and for a few tense seconds, they just looked at each other. Then Sister Ruth’s face smoothed out and she smiled at Allison.  
“Are you ready for your lessons, Your Highness?”

  
So they were going to pretend that nothing happened then. Allison was grateful for that as she sat down and Sister Ruth started the lessons.

 

*****

 

Afternoon tea was excruciating. Everyone, except Allison, seemed to know what was going on. The usual light and cheerful banters were traded for quiet and secretive conversations. Allison could only take it for so long before she had to leave.

  
There was still some time before she was expected in the work room but she was wary about getting there early, so she just walked aimlessly along the empty hallways of the Coven. She was lost in thoughts and the next time she looked up, she found herself standing in front of Sister Superior’s door.

  
She hesitated and almost turned around to leave, but the uneasiness she felt since morning propelled her forward. Allison knocked on the door and prepared herself. Seconds later, Sister Valeria opened the door. Her eyebrows shot up and it was the only outward sign of her surprise.

  
“May I please see the Sister Superior?” Allison asked.

  
Sister Valeria’s lips thinned into a line and she looked determined as she stepped outside and closed the door behind her.

  
“Sister Superior is not available at the moment.”

  
“Oh.” Allison tried not to feel disappointed.

  
“Your Highness, is this about what happened at the library?”

  
Allison felt her cheeks reddened. Sister Ruth must have had words with Sister Valeria.

  
“Yes, it is.” She admitted.

  
Sister Valeria took a deep breath. “If you could wait for a little while? Everything will be explained to you soon.”

  
Allison clenched his hands and squared up her shoulders. “I’ll wait until tonight then.” She said succinctly.

 

*****

 

The rest of Allison’s day went by in a haze. Sister Abby greeted here with her usual smile, although Allison noted the pinch around her eyes and mouth. Sister Abby didn’t mention anything about the library incident and Allison wasn’t about to bring it up. They lapsed into their usual routine, and Allison felt something unclenched in her chest.

  
This was something familiar, this was something comforting.

  
When Allison was about to leave for dinner, Sister Abby put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. The warmth on Sister Abby’s eyes couldn’t mask the pity.

  
“You have grown so well Your Highness.” Sister Abby said before she leaned down and kissed her cheeks.

  
Then Sister Abby ushered her out of the infirmary and Allison felt her heart clenched again.

 

*****

 

Later that night, Allison found Sister Superior standing beside the partition, waiting for her.

  
“I have a question before we go inside Your Highness.”

  
“I have questions of my own Sister Superior.” Allison replied.

  
Sister Superior nodded. “All in due time Your Highness. But first tell me, have you had any dreams lately?”

  
Allison scrunched her eyebrows. She had dreams of course, but she could never remember them when she woke up.

  
“I don’t remember my dreams.” She answered.

  
Sister Superior looked relieved upon hearing her answer. She stepped behind the partition and held the door open for Allison.

  
“Then nothing needs to change Your Highness.”

  
Nothing did change. The next morning, the Coven had returned to its previous rhythm. The Sisters were back to being normal around Allison. The palpable tension in the air from the day before left no trace at all. Allison still had several questions burning in the back of her tongue but she swallowed them down.

  
She would ask them later, all in due time. For now, nothing needed to change, just like Sister Superior said.

 

*****


End file.
